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Uber does not break law in UK , High Court rules

Last Year ,T=the court had been asked to decide whether the company's smartphones were considered meters, which are outlawed for private hire vehicles.

Today 20 January 2016 London's transport authority has rejected proposals that would have severely restricted Uber and other app-focused car pick-up services.The California-based private-hire company had urged its users to oppose suggestions that had included a ban on apps being able to show where their nearby available vehicles were.The idea had been put forward following complaints from black-cab drivers about "unfair competition".

Uber has celebrated the "victory".

The black cabs are right to be scared. Perhaps they are right to strike, too. Yet they are fighting a losing battle.Uber provides a better service for less money. As with Amazon, the firm's success is not part of some great corporate conspiracy but driven by consumers. (Also as with Amazon, there are legitimate questions to ask about Uber's tax status.) The technology that enabled this disruption will only become cheaper, better and more widespread. The question for black cabs is whether they adapt or die.

Transport for London said taking the case to court had been "in the public interest".

The app-based company allows users to order cars via their smartphones, which often arrive within minutes and can cost a fraction of the price of a black cab.An Uber spokesman said: "This was not a marginal call; it is quite emphatic. In fact, it is contemptuous of the case brought before it.

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"Uber will continue going about our business and making sure customers have choice."

Transport for London welcomed the ruling, saying there had been "significant public interest in establishing legal certainty in the matter".